WE ARE READY AND WAITING FOR MILOSEVIC, SAYS WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL SPOKESMAN

WE ARE READY AND WAITING FOR MILOSEVIC, SAYS WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL SPOKESMAN ZAGREB, Oct 6 (Hina) - Spokesman for the Hague-based war crimes tribunal told Hina Friday they were "ready and waiting" for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, as soon as he is arrested. #L# Milosevic was last May indicted of war crimes committed in Yugoslav's province of Kosovo last year. According to Landale, the ICTY chief prosecutor is considering expanding his indictment to include crimes committed in Bosnia- Herzegovina and Croatia. Asked to state how the ICTY received the announcement of the newly- elected Yugoslav president, Vojislav Kostunica, that he was not willing to cooperate with ICTY and extradite Yugoslav citizens, Jim Landale said this was unacceptable, adding "all countries have a binding obligation to cooperate." Asked whether the Tribunal feared Milosevic's possible fleeing into another country, Landale recalled "he is a fugitive, ... but the indictment has no statute of limitations". The indictment against Milosevic, and others, cannot be negated. Only the Tribunal's chief prosecutor and the judge who signed the indictment can withdraw it, Landale said. "This is not about to happen," he asserted. The chief prosecutor is at this moment considering expanding the indictment to crimes committed in Bosnia and Croatia, the ICTY spokesman said. Asked to comment on Kostunica's assessment that the Tribunal was an instrument of American politics, Landale said, "he is mistaken in his opinion of the Tribunal. This is not a political institution, but an independent court created by the Security Council". At the moment, the most important issue is for the situation in Yugoslavia to be solved peacefully and without bloodshed, Landale said, assessing that it was important "in the long term that all people of Serbia come to terms with the horrendous and massive crimes committed in their names". The way to resolve the collective feeling of guilt is for individuals responsible for the crimes to be brought to justice, Landale asserted. (hina) lml